VANCOUVER, BC – A sewage treatment plant that costs more than the new St. Paul's Hospital. Secret votes to kill public inquiries. A CAO earning $592,416 while homeowners absorb a 25.3% tax increase. This is Metro Vancouver in 2026 – and BC Conservative leadership candidate Iain Black says it has to end.
Today, Iain Black released a plan to fundamentally restructure Metro Vancouver – converting it into a regulated regional utility with provincial oversight, restoring accountability, and putting an end to a culture of waste and secrecy that is costing Lower Mainland families an average of $875 per year – and as much as $1,792 on the North Shore.
"Metro Vancouver has drifted far beyond its mandate, and local taxpayers are paying the price," said Black. "The solution isn't just cutting waste – it's changing the structure entirely. By converting Metro Vancouver into a regulated utility, we ensure that any rate increase or attempt to expand its bureaucracy must be justified before an independent board. That eliminates mission creep, controls salaries and expenses, and brings real accountability to a body that has had none."
Black's plan includes four immediate commitments:
- Halt construction of the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant pending a full, independent accounting of cost overruns and a serious examination of whether it can be delivered more economically – and demand the federal government pay one third of the total cost
- Cut Metro Vancouver's $220 million salary budget by at least 10% and eliminate excessive executive compensation. The size of the bureaucracy and salary levels would be further reviewed and reduced as Metro converts to a utility.
- Convert Metro Vancouver into a regulated regional utility – focused exclusively on water, sewage, and drainage – with provincial oversight requiring any rate increases or service changes to be justified to an independent utility board. Where services can be provided by local government or the private sector, Metro Vancouver gets out of the way
- Order a full, independent governance review – including an examination of whether splitting Metro Vancouver into North of Fraser and South of Fraser regional utilities would better serve residents on each side of the Fraser River
"At a time when families across this region are already stretched to the breaking point, no one can afford an extra $1,000 on their property tax bill to fund a culture of entitlement and secrecy," said Black. "I've spent my career restructuring organizations that lost their way. Metro Vancouver has lost its way. Experience matters – and it matters here."
Black brings rare experience to this issue, having served as a BC Cabinet Minister, CEO, and organizational turnaround specialist. He is the only candidate in the BC Conservative leadership race with both Cabinet and private sector executive experience.